title: Occupational exposure to trichloroethylene and serum concentrations of IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-alpha.
abstract: To evaluate the immunotoxicity of trichloroethylene (TCE), we conducted a cross-sectional molecular epidemiology study in China of workers exposed to TCE. We measured serum levels of IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α, which play a critical role in regulating various components of the immune system, in 71 exposed workers and 78 unexposed control workers. Repeated personal exposure measurements were taken in workers before blood collection using 3 M organic vapor monitoring badges. Compared to unexposed workers, the serum concentration of IL-10 in workers exposed to TCE was decreased by 70% (P = 0.001) after adjusting for potential confounders. Further, the magnitude of decline in IL-10 was >60% and statistically significant in workers exposed to <12 ppm as well as in workers with exposures ≥ 12 ppm of TCE, compared to unexposed workers. No significant differences in levels of IL-6 or TNF-α were observed among workers exposed to TCE compared to unexposed controls. Given that IL-10 plays an important role in immunologic processes, including mediating the Th1/Th2 balance, our findings provide additional evidence that TCE is immunotoxic in humans.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Bryan A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Bassig
authors.forename: Luoping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiaojiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Roel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vermeulen
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Martyn T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Chuangyi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Yichen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.forename: Zhiying
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Reiss
authors.forename: H Dean
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Hosgood
authors.forename: Songwang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bagni
authors.forename: Weihong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Purdue
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.forename: Laiyu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hanlin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Nathaniel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rothman
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000097:blood*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D014241:Trichloroethylene / Q000633:toxicity*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D016753:Interleukin-10; D014241:Trichloroethylene
keywords: IL-10; IL-6; TNF-α; immunotoxicity; occupational exposure; trichloroethylene